Day 123k: Kindness in the Dark … (August 30, 2019)
I then made it – very slowly and not at all surely – into the near outskirts of the town of Lucketts as the Sun starts to descend and the still-busy roadway descends as well into shadow. I frankly wasn’t sure whether walking onward at this point was wise at all, and was considering simply sitting by the roadside for as long as it took for the traffic to wane, when Shaun pulled over beside me and told me he would give me a ride. I explained to him that this was not an available option, whereupon he told me quite frankly that “People die all the time on this road.” I assured him that I would be careful and he drove away reluctantly, only to return a few minutes later and give me a wonderful little LED flashlight (which turned out to be extremely helpful, and was used with great gratitude for many days thereafter) … I walked for a few minutes more (after Shaun had departed for the second time) and made it smoothly enough to the local Lucketts Fire Department (Station #10), where Mike & Derrick & Donnie all welcomed me warmly and gave me a place to rest awhile as we chatted about my Walk and the state of the United States and even Life in general. And then it was time to go once more, and Mike gave me some granola bars for the road and a heartfelt (and quite uplifting) encouragement to “Keep spreading the Message!” – something I definitely intended to do …
“Here is what I hope you, dear reader: Know that even in darkness, you Be the Light. Indeed, let yours be the light that illuminates the world. Let yours be the life that is guided by an unwavering moral compass – by decency, by courage, by compassion, by love. And in so living make your home, your school, your office, and your community a place where all sentient-kind are equally welcome … Many of you need a lesson in humility, no doubt – and this means that many of you need a lesson in kindness. Yes, your misplaced certainties may give you a sense of power or your stations of influence a sense of ease, it will without doubt serve you better to put them all aside. For it is these times – your times of kindness and integrity and compassion and giving – that will be the times you will in truth Become the Light of the world.” ~ inspired by Liza Wiemer & Jason Lee
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